Self-Service

When it comes to paying for goods and services, consumers are taking matters into their own hands. North American consumers transacted nearly $128 billion in sales using self-checkout lanes, ticketing kiosks and other self-service machines in 2003, an increase of 80 percent from the previous year, reports a new research study conducted by IHL Consulting Group.

What's more, the revenue generated by self-service transactions should continue this pace of growth in the coming years, says Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group, an analyst firm and consultancy that serves retailers and retail technology vendors. "We expect to see expenditures made at self-service kiosks to rise by about 73 percent this year and 88 percent in 2005," Buzek adds.